Date-correcting means for a date-indicating watch



Oct. 6, 1910 y B. BLLE 3,531,929

DATE-CORRECTING MEANS FOR A DATE-INDICATING WATCH Filed Oct. '2, 1968 INVENTOR 5mm Bo//e United States Patent 3,531,929 DATE-CORRECTING MEANS FOR A DATE-INDICATING WATCH Benjamin Bolle, Pforzheim, Germany, assignor to Bernhard Forster, Pforzheim, Germany, a firm Filed Oct. 7, 1968, Ser. No. 765,340 Int. Cl. G04h 19/24 U.S. C]. 58-58 3 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A wristwatch has a rotatable date-indicating ring provided with internal teeth. A spring biased date-correcting lever has a finger which is normally spaced radially inward of the teeth of the ring. A time-adjusting lever actuated by outward movement of the watch stern moves the date-correcting lever radially outward so that the finger engages the teeth of the ring, and then the timeadjustin g lever turns the date-correcting lever which rotates the date-indicating ring angularly the circumferential length of one tooth to change the date indication,

This invention relates to a date-correcting device for date-indicating Wristwatches, which device is operable by the winding stern.

Date-indicating Wristwatches have been provided with date-correcting levers in order to eliminate the need for a complicated date adjustment involving the pointers, which would require the minute hand to perform 24 revolutions for each day by which the date indication is to be changed. The provision of an additional lever or push piece on the watch housing is undesirable, particularly with watertight watches. For this reason too, it has been known to provide for the correction of the date indication a device which is operable with the aid of the winding stern, which can be pulled out beyond the time-correctin-g position to another position in which the stem is rotatable to adjust the date indication. This arrangement requires an additional transmitting gear, which is operated to the pinion on the displaceable stem and changes the date indication with the aid of a rocker. That additional transmission wheel is inconsistent with the desire for flat watch movements particularly because said wheel must extend at right angles to the plane of the watch movement.

This disadvantage is eliminated by the present invention. To this end, the date-correcting device for dateindicating Wristwatches, which device is operable by the winding stem, is characterized in accordance with the invention in that the winding stem can be pulled out beyond the time-adjusting position to act by means of a finger of the time-adjusting lever on a date-correcting lever and to cause by this movement a finger of the latter lever to engage date teeth against spring action and subsequently to perform a pivotal movement so as to change the date indication by one day. As a result, the date indication is changed by one day whenever the winding stem is pulled out beyond the time-adjusting position and a flat arrangement is achieved because the date-correcting lever extends in the plane of the watch movement.

Specifically, the date-correcting lever may be guided by a longitudinal slot for a movement transverse to the date against spring action and for a pivotal movement. To this end, the date-correcting lever has before the guiding longitudinal slot a pin cam, which is engaged by a return spring and which is engageable by the finger of the time-adjusting lever in its date-correcting position.

Further details of the invention will be explained with reference to the drawing, which shows diagrammatically the date-correcting device according to the invention in 3,531,929 Patented Oct. 6, 1970 its normal position and, in dotted lines, in its adjusting position.

The drawing shows the main mounting plate 1 of the watch and the date ring 2 having date teeth 3. In known manner, the winding stem 4 is provided with a displaceable pinion 5 and in a first pulled-out position serves to adjust the hands by means of the time-adjusting lever 6, the spring 7 for locating the time-adjusting lever, and the time-adjusting gear 8.

According to the invention, the crown and the winding stem 4 can be pulled out beyond the time-adjusting position. During this movement, the finger 6a of the timeadjusting lever acts on the pin cam 10 of the date-correcting lever 9 to move lever 9 radially outward to the dotted line position shown in the drawing. Lever 9 is disposed in a plane parallel to the plane of flat ring 2. Finger 11 at the inner end of lever 9 extends laterally of lever 9 and axially of ring 2 into the plane of the ring. This finger is normally disposed radially inward of the teeth 3. When lever 9 moves radially outward against bias of spring 12, finger 11 engages the nearest tooth of ring 2. The radial outward movement of lever 9 is succeeded by a rotational movement of lever 9 which turns ring 2 by one step, so that the date is changed by one day upon each actuation of stem 4. To enable this movement, the date-correcting lever 9 has a longitudinal guide slot 14, which is transverse to the date ring 2 and receives a pin 13 so that the lever 9 is longitudinally and pivotally movable. As is apparent from the drawing, the pin cam 10 is engaged by the return spring 12 and is engageable by the finger 6a of the timeadjusting lever upon actuation of the winding stem.

The spring 7 for locating the time-adjusting lever comprises two indentations 15 for locating the adjusting lever 6 in the winding and hand-adjusting positions, respectively, and has also a slide track 16 for the pin 17 carried by the lever 6, as is apparent from the dotted-line representation. The return spring 12 lies with one end in an arcuate recess 18 and with its angled free end portion engages the pin cam 10 of the date-correcting lever 9.

What is claimed is:

1. A wristwatch, comprising a frame; time-indicating means carried by said frame; a flat date-indicating ring rotatably mounted in said frame and having internal, radially extending, uniformly and circumferentially spaced teeth; a stem rotatably mounted in said frame and axially movable outward to a time-adjusting position and further outward to a date-correcting position; a spring biased, pivotable time-adjusting level mounted in said frame and operatively arranged to adjust said time-indicating means in response to rotation of said stern when the stem is moved axially outward to the time-adjusting position; a date-correcting lever mounted in said frame and movable both longitudinally and pivotally against spring bias, said date-correcting lever being disposed laterally of and parallel to said date indicating ring, said date-correcting lever having a laterally extending finger at one end normally disposed radially inward of said ring clear of said teeth but extending axially of the ring into the plane of said ring and teeth; and spring means normally urging said date-correcting lever radially inwardly of the frame so that said finger is clear of said teeth, whereby further outward movement of said stem to the date-correcting position initially pivots the time-adjusting lever to engage and move the date-correcting lever radially outward until said finger engages the nearest tooth of the ring, and then the time-adjusting lever pivots the date-correcting lever to turn said ring circumferentially by the length of one tooth, so that the date indication is changed.

2. A wristwatch as defined in claim, wherein said datecorrecting lever has a longitudinal slot extending transversely of said ring; a pin engaged in said slot to guide the date-correcting lever in both longitudinal and pivotal movement; and a pin cam on the date-correcting lever, said spring means bearing against one side of the pin cam, said time-adjusting lever being disposed to engage the other side of the pin cam for moving the date-correcting lever longitudinally and pivotally against bias in said spring means.

3. A Wristwatch as defined in claim 1, further comprising means pivotally mounting said time-adjusting lever in said frame; and other spring means normally biasing said time-adjusting lever away from said pin cam so that the time-adjusting lever contacts said pin cam and moves said date-correcting lever both longitudinally and pivotally only while the stem is being moved axially outward from said time adjusting position to said date-correcting position.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,581,268 1/1952 Marchand 58-58 3,093,958 6/1963 Meyer 5858 FOREIGN PATENTS 254, 307 4/ 1948 Switzerland. 351,221 2/1961 Switzerland.

RICHARD B. WILKINSON, Primary Examiner G. H. MILLER, JR., Assistant Examiner 

